Ahead of Friday night’s Backyard Brawl between Pitt and West Virginia, West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins didn’t hold back when talking about the possibility of injured Pitt forward John Hugley playing in that game.
“Hugley’s going to play,” Huggins said. “I also know everybody in Cleveland, too. So, he’s going to play John [reporter]. I’ll tell you what, he’s a load on the block. He’s really good on the block. He’s different than Federiko.”
On Wednesday, Jeff Capel told reporters that Hugley had been cleared to participate in non-contact activity, but did not give an answer on whether or not Hugley would play in Friday night’s game.
“John has been cleared to do non-contact stuff, and we’re doing some individual workouts with him,” Capel said. “He was able to participate in the shooting today and some five-on-five stuff. We’ll continue to monitor that to see if there’s any swelling or soreness. That’ll most likely be his schedule for the rest of the week and we’ll see what happens after that.”
Huggins also spoke about Pitt big man Federiko Federiko, who was formerly committed to West Virginia prior to his commitment to Pitt.
“Federiko’s one of those, he’s really mobile, really can run. Shot blocker. He’s not going to be able to score it the way Hugley does.”
The Backyard Brawl will tip off at 7 p.m. at the Petersen Events Center and will be televised on ACCN Extra.
